Infamy

A Rather Mysterious Victim

Dead. The young body lied on the concrete pathway, he was a college student, in between two buildings was where his body resided. The flashing of cameras surrounded the body as the Authorities observed the newly discovered victim.

"Suicide," one police officer stated, "He fell from the top of the building."

Detective Ryan Hughes crouched down by the body and looked into the lifeless body's face.

"What's his name?" The twenty-nine year old detective inquired as he scanned the body for anything noticeable.

"His name is Cole Braxton," one officer answered, "he is...was...twenty years old..."

"What a shame," Ryan commented solemnly, "people get so mislead and confused..."

"Sadly, that is true," the officer replied sadly, "Not to mention, his parents own the building that he jumped off of..."

"Really," Ryan uttered quietly, "That's sad, the Braxton Hotel is a truly nice business, they run it well, and it is always busy, the Mister and Misses are very sweet people."

"That they are," the officer consented, "Losing their only child must be heart wrenching..."

"Yeah," Ryan muttered, "I don't know what I would do if I lost Izzy..."

"How old is she now?" The officer asked.

"She's five," Ryan mused with his morale rising, "She's a handful, but she's a joy for me and Carrie."

"I imagine," the officer laughed.

"Do you have any kids, Greg?" Ryan asked lightheartedly.

"No I don't," the officer, known as Greg, answered, "Still not married."

"I see," Ryan stated.

"I guess you can go now," Greg stated, "I don't see any reason for you to stay, we will take the body now."

"Okay," Ryan nodded, he looked at the corpse one last time, he seemed so clean, like he was not ready to die, his light brown hair still neatly brushed, his hands clenched, as if holding onto his last string of life.

"Hold on," Ryan said, "What is in his hand?"

Ryan crouched back down to the body, he uncurled the man's left hand, in his palm, he held a crumpled up piece of paper.

"What is this?" Ryan asked himself.

He opened up the paper, seeing two words, written in large font, across the paper.

Find Me

"Find me?" Ryan inquired as he read the paper again, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe it is his dying wish for someone to figure out what lead to his suicide?" Greg suggested.

"It could also be a note to himself," Ryan said, "Telling himself to find himself...But who knows..."

"You good?" Greg asked Ryan.

"Yeah," Ryan answered as he calculated the possibilities, "You can take the body now."

As they prepared the body for transportation to the morgue, Ryan stood up, thanked the officers and left the scene. He drove out of the city and into a neighborhood near the urban area. After a few turns, he pulled into the driveway of what was his one story house. After he parked his little coup, he hopped out of car and approached the door. After attempting to open it, he realized it was locked.

"Right," Ryan told himself, "Carrie is cautious."

He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door, as he opened the door, he heard a yelp of excitement.

"Daddy!" A young girl shouted as she sprinted into her father's arms.

"Hey Little Booger," Ryan jokingly greeted, the girl giggled at the nickname given to her.

"So how was school today?" Ryan asked excitedly.

"Fun! I learned a lot!" Izzy yelled, jumping up and down.

"You don't have to yell, I'm right here," Ryan laughed, "but that's good, you'll be a little genius like your mommy one day."

"Hurray!!" Izzy chanted as she danced around, "I want to be just like mommy!"

"I do too," Ryan said as he stood up and walked into the living room, there, he saw his calm wife, a year younger than he, watching a children's television show.

"I see you and Izzy were watching something together," Ryan chuckled, "Unless you love, 'Hey You, Freddy Blue'"

"It's my favorite," Carrie answered sarcastically, as she rolled her eyes, "How was your day?"

"Alright," Ryan answered as he found a seat on the couch, "It ended on a bad note."

"How so?" Carrie inquired with concern, the sound of Izzy singing in the background caused her to break a smile,

"Well, there was a suicide," Ryan stated solemnly, "I always hate seeing it happen."

"Yeah, it's a shame," Carrie answered, "Just remember it is not your fault if someone is murdered, if someone kills themself or if anything else happens, you knew nothing of it until it happens."

"I know," Ryan stated, "The world is ugly sometimes."

"You see the worst of it," Carrie commented.

"I guess," Ryan consented, "I just hope Izzy won't experience it."

"Yeah," Carrie agreed.

"So how was your day?" Ryan asked, breaking the dark mood.

"As of today, I only have a year until I finish my degree in Psychology," Carrie stated proudly.

"Well done," Ryan smiled, "Keep it up."

"I will," Carrie smirked, "I can't let you carry all the weight."

The next day, Ryan went to his office, there, he ran into his friend, Richard Garth, a fellow detective.

"Hey Ryan!" Richard exclaimed as he approached Ryan, Richard's light face made him seem like he was always in a pleasant mood.

"How are you doing, Rich?" Ryan smiled back.

"Got a new case today," Richard stated, "A missing college student, twenty years old."

"Name?" Ryan asked out of curiosity.

"Sam Wells," Richard answered, "He doesn't seem to have any close friends, except for this Cole Braxton guy, I'm going to visit him today."

"Hold on," Ryan halted Richard, "Cole Braxton?"

"Yeah," Richard replied, giving Ryan a cautious look, "Why?"

"Cole is dead," Ryan answered, "At about 3am last night, suicide."

"That's odd," Richard pondered, "Mere hours after Sam disappeared, maybe Cole knew?"

"'Find me'" Ryan recited to himself, "Cole had a note, it said 'Find me.'"

"Find me?" Richard repeated, "A note from Sam?"

"Maybe," Ryan speculated.

"So Cole knew Sam was missing?" Richard conjectured, rubbing the bottom of his chin with the back of his hand in thought.

"But that does not add up," Ryan stated, stroking back his dark brown hair, "Why would Cole kill himself if he knew his friend was in danger?"

"Maybe they were not really friends?" Richard suggested, "And Cole was behind the disappearance?"

"Cole kidnapping Sam does not add up either," Ryan rambled, "Why would Cole kill himself and why would he have the note if he was the kidnapper?"

"True," Richard replied with a puzzled look on his face.

"Well," Ryan stated, "I have no case currently, you look for Sam, I am going to try and learn more about Cole."

"Sounds good to me," Richard responded, "Let's shed some light on this event."